Smoked Veggies

So I decided to get creative with a mixed vegetable medley recipe I'd seen on Facebook. You know the type, a super fast video to show you in a minute how to make something delicious. So I decided I'd try to smoke mixed veggies.

My mistakes were several, and I'll be sure to document them for posterity's sake lol.

First, I cheated and used some frozen veggies. The frozen veggies dropped the whole temperature, and because I was using a disposable metal cake pan, made everything pretty cold when it went on the grill, including the butter I sliced up over the vegetables.

Second, I didn't cut the veggies small enough. The squash, and carrots should have been cut into smaller pieces. I just didn't think much about it, but in hindsight, I'd halve them again.

Third, I used too much cayenne pepper. What I needed to do was put the veggies in a big plastic bag and mix my spices in a small bowl, melt the butter, mix the spices in with the butter, and then pour them over the veggies in the bag. It would have given me the chance to adjust for flavor and I'd have realized I didn't need a second pass with cayenne pepper.

Fourth, I took the foil off the veggies too soon. The grill temperature climbed to about 300 degrees in 30 minutes. At that point I took off the foil. I should have left it on for another 15 minutes.

Fifth, I took the veggies off too soon. Sure, I was time crunched. But I should have left them on for another 15-20 minutes after taking the foil off.

Overall, they were undercooked and overspiced. The smoke was prominent, but not overly done. I might use fewer wood chips next time, and switch to maple instead of using hickory. I figure a longer cook time and less open air cooks them through faster before removing the foil to give them a more roasted look and flavor.